At a working
session with Minister of Transport Trương Quang Nghĩa on Wednesday, Cà Mau
Province proposed that the Hòn Khoai Seaport should be considered one of the
major national projects requiring investment.

Nguyễn Tiến
Hải, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, proposed that the
transport ministry adjust planning and scale of the Hòn Khoai Seaport to
enable it to welcome vessels with capacity of up to 250,000 tonnes.

Under the
current approved plans, the Hòn Khoai Seaport is capable of receiving vessels
from 100,000 tonnes to 160,000 tonnes.

Minister
Trương Quang Nghĩa said calling for investment to develop the Hòn
Khoai Seaport from the State budget was not feasible, given the limited
budget of the Government.

Nghĩa said
the province needed to carefully study the feasibility of the project to call
for investment, adding that the ministry would support the province in
implementing this project.

The Hòn
Khoai Seaport project has been calling for investment since July 2016.

The province
said Hòn Khoai Seaport has several advantages. It will be a large deep-water
seaport, which can attract a significant shipment volume and boost the
region’s economic growth.

The seaport
is expected to serve the Năm Căn Economic Zone and the southern region with
the transport of a number of goods, from coal, rice, agricultural and
fisheries products, to petrol, oil and liquefied gas.

Notably, Hòn
Khoai will be a “green” seaport with a preserved ecosystem. - VNS